Three Great American Light Orchestras
Percy Faith, David Rose, Paul Weston and their orchestras
rec. 1950-61
Full track-list at end of review
GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD 5199 [78:46]
Here is a very agreeable collection of two dozen well-known, well-loved
numbers played by three celebrated American light orchestras. The listing
below will surely decide its saleability.
Percy Faith was Canadian-born (Toronto) but became a naturalised
American citizen in 1945. He had a long career in radio and in the recording
studios stretching from the 1930s when he conducted an orchestra that
included Robert Farnon as lead trumpeter, to the 1960s. He arranged
all his own material. His music concentrated on the popular music of
the time. He had a penchant for exotic Latin-American music as one or
two of the tracks on this album attest. He provided music for some of
the most famous television series of the time and he won Grammies for
the theme from A Summer Place and the Love Theme from Romeo
and Juliet. His full lush romantic sound speaks for itself.
David Rose was born in London. His family moved to America when
he was just four years old. He attended the Chicago College of Music
and joined a dance band before becoming an NBC Radio pianist/arranger/composer.
Moving to Hollywood he formed his own orchestra in 1938 for the Mutual
Broadcasting System. His big hits include: the instrumentals: ‘Holiday
for Strings’ and ‘The Stripper’ plus ‘Dance of the Spanish Onion’, ‘Manhattan
Square Dance’ and ‘Calypso Melody’. He wrote scores for over 20 TV series
and won Emmy awards for his work on Bonanza, Little House
on the Prairie and his work on three much-acclaimed Fred Astaire
Specials. David Rose was the first husband of Judy Garland.
Paul Weston was born in Springfield Massachusetts. He began as
an arranger after surviving a horrific train accident while attending
Columbia University. His career break came after he sold some arrangements
to the Joe Haymes Orchestra before Tommy Dorsey took them over. He created
some very memorable recordings including: ‘Song of India’, ‘Stardust’
and ‘Night and Day’. He married Jo Stafford in 1952. Weston went on
to work with Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore before going to Hollywood.
In 1941, he arranged for his first film, Holiday Inn with Fred
Astaire and Bing Crosby. Other Paramount films followed and he enjoyed
another career boost when he joined Capitol Records; then, later, Columbia
Records. He worked with many artists and jazz musicians including: Ella
Fitzgerald, Ziggy Elman, Eddie Miller and Barney Kessel. As a composer,
Weston is remembered for such hits as: ‘Day by Day’, ‘I Should Care’,
‘Shrimp Boats’, ‘Autumn in Rome’ and ‘When April Comes Again’.
Paul Weston’s reminiscences about Jerome Kern that form the bonus track
to this album are absolutely fascinating.
Sweet nostalgia from three of America’s biggest names in Light Music
Ian Lace
Sweet nostalgia from three of America’s biggest names in Light Music
Full track-list
Percy Faith (1908-1976) and His Orchestra: (all arrangements by Percy Faith)
‘Somewhere’ (West Side Story) Stephen Sondheim/Leonard Bernstein [2:58] rec. 1960
‘Petite’ (‘Mon Petite Monde a Moi’) David E. Coleman/Rudi Revil [3:04] rec. 1954
‘The Last Dance’ Percy Faith [2.55] rec.1956
‘My Shawl’ Stanley Adams/Xavier Cugat [4:17] rec. 1950
‘La Mer’ (Beyond the Sea) Charles Trenet featuring the Percy Faith Singers [4:41] rec. 1959
‘Mon Oncle’ (Theme from the Film) Frank Barcellini [2.38] rec. 1960
‘Italian Street Song’ (from Naughty Marietta) Victor Herbert [2:12] rec. 1958
‘Go-Go-Go-Go’ Percy Faith [2:15] rec. 1961
David Rose (1910-1990) and His Orchestra (all arrangements by David Rose)
‘California Melodies’ David Rose [2:58] rec. 1959
‘I’ve Got The World On A String’ (from Cotton Club Parade) Harold Arlen/Ted Koehler [3:01] rec. 1954
‘The Happy Bow’ David Rose [2:26] rec. 1953
‘Lonesome on Main Street’ David Rose [3:12] rec. 1953
‘The Mask Waltz’ David Rose featuring Ray Turner (piano) [3:02] rec. 1953
‘Flavia’ David Rose [2:55] rec. 1959
‘Ponderosa’ (from TV series – Bonanza) David Rose [3:22] rec. 1961
‘It’s A Most Unusual Day’ (from the film, A Date With Judy) Jimmy McHugh/Harold Adamson [2:22] rec. 1961
Paul Weston (1912-1996) and His Orchestra: (all arrangements by Paul Weston)
‘Whispers in the Dark’ Leo Robin/Frederick Hollander [2:59] rec. 1954
‘My Darling, My Darling’ (from Where’s Charley?) Frank Loesser [2:38] rec. 1961
‘Day By Day’ Paul Weston/Sammy Cahn/Axel Stordahl [3:26] rec. 1954
‘Soon’ Ira Gershwin/George Gershwin [3:21] rec. 1954
‘There Will Never Be Another You’ (from the film Iceland) Harry Warren/Mack Gordon [2:47] rec. 1959
‘When April Comes Again’ Paul Weston/Doris Schaefer [2:51] rec. 1959
‘Folks Who Live On The Hill’ (from High, Wide and Handsome) Jerome Kern [3:01] rec. 1958
‘Who’ (from the show Sunny) Jerome Kern [1:28] rec. 1958
BONUS TRACK: Paul Weston discussing his Jerome Kern recordings in 1958 for a special promotional feature by Columbia Records [6.37] rec.1958
